MADISON - Two state leaders are asking United States National Guard officials to investigate whether Wisconsin properly handles sexual assault allegations in the wake of accusations that state guard officials have ignored many of them.

U.S. Sen Tammy Baldwin and Gov. Tony Evers on Thursday asked officials with the National Guard Bureau’s Office of Complex Investigations to conduct "an independent, comprehensive review" of the Wisconsin National Guard’s procedures to report and investigate sexual assault and harassment allegations.

"I understand the seriousness of my request and I reached the conclusion that an impartial outside review was necessary in light of continued concerns from Wisconsin National Guard service members," Baldwin wrote in a letter dated Thursday.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin thanks supporters after she won her campaign against Republican Leah Vukmir during her election night party at Monona Terrace in Madison.(Photo: Rick Wood, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Baldwin's letter comes after a separate request she made in November to the U.S. Air Force asking officials there to investigate multiple claims of sexual assault and harassment within the Madison-based Wisconsin Air National Guard unit "dating back decades."

In a Nov. 13 letter to the Congressional Inquiry Division of the Air Force, Baldwin asks for a review of allegations ranging from "inappropriate comments to actual assault."

Air Force Inspector General Jacqueline Albright in a Nov. 16 letter told Baldwin she referred the request to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations and in a Jan. 9 letter, Albright said the office was conducting a review of Master Sgt. Jay Ellis' allegations.

Evers in a statement said he is inviting National Guard investigators to Wisconsin in light of the allegations.

“As should be the case in all workplaces, the service members of the Wisconsin National Guard deserve a work environment free from sexual assault and harassment, fear of retaliation for reporting sexual assault and harassment when it occurs, and inadequate accountability for perpetrators of sexual assault and harassment,” Evers said.

"The Wisconsin National Guard has taken numerous steps in recent years to protect service members and to prevent assault or harassment from taking place," Dunbar wrote to Fitzgerald on March 7. "We have also made it a priority to investigate allegations and, when those allegations are substantiated, prosecute and punish offenders."

Dunbar said the guard has a zero tolerance policy and that "our leaders work actively to foster a culture of trust that encourages reporting and seeks to ensure that victims feel comfortable coming forward."

Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, in February asked Dunbar for a review of policies and possible changes to improve the guard's procedures after he met with a female soldier in January who said she was harassed by a fellow soldier who wasn't punished.

Fitzgerald said he still has concerns following Dunbar's response.

"As a result of the response I received from the National Guard, I still have concerns about the standard operating procedures relating to sexual harassment and sexual assault as well as the enforcement of those policies," Fitzgerald said. "I have asked my staff to engage with Governor Evers’ office regarding this response.”

The meeting also followed allegations made by Ellis who told Baldwin, Wisconsin's Democratic U.S. senator from Madison, that he knew of six incidents of sexual assault or harassment against female members of the unit that occurred between 2002 and 2016.

Ellis said high-ranking officers have done little to address them.

Wisconsin National Guard spokesman Cpt. Joe Trovato said Thursday the guard "takes all allegations of sexual assault, harassment or misconduct seriously, and eliminating it from our ranks has long been one of our organization’s top priorities."

Trovato said the guard has a "robust program focused on protecting victims" and will provide the National Guard Bureau's Office of Complex Investigations with any information they request.